1. Field of the Invention
This invention concerns fiber management trays or drawers on which fiber optic devices are retained for connection with outside devices or cables.
2. Discussion of the Known Art
Fiber management trays or drawers are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,412,751 (May 2, 1995) and 6,937,807 (Aug. 30, 2005). The '751 patent discloses a tray for use with a fiber optic patch panel, wherein the tray has apertures for receiving cable ties that serve to restrain movement of a fiber optic cable entering the tray. Pairs of cable retention clips are also provided on the tray to maintain a bundle of coiled fibers extending from the cable within a certain range of bending radii, before the fibers are terminated at a front panel for connection with outside cables.
The '807 patent discloses a sliding drawer for a cable management panel. At least two drop-in plates are mounted in the drawer, wherein the plates accommodate selected fiber components, e.g., attenuators, couplers, filters, multiplexers and splitters. The patent does not disclose specific details concerning the retention or mounting of the components on the drop-in plates, however. Fiber management trays with hold down fingers that are molded onto the tray surface are also known, wherein fibers or associated components are urged between adjacent fingers and are thereby retained on the tray.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,784 (Nov. 26, 1991) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,071,211 (Dec. 10, 1991) describe connector holders or mounts for optical fibers. The mounts are accommodated in a recess formed in the base of a tray, and a foot at the front of each mount is inserted through an opening defined in a front side of the recess. A flexible latch at the rear of each mount is received through a hole in the rear side of the recess and serves to hold the mount in position, according to the patents. See also U.S. Pat. No. 5,446,822 (Aug. 29, 1995), and U.S. Pat. No. 7,373,031 (May 13, 2008).
It would be desirable for a single fiber management tray or drawer to be able to accommodate two or more fiber optic devices of different exterior dimensions and shapes, at such positions and orientations that will best suit the type and amount of fiber routed to and from the tray within an associated network node enclosure. Such devices include, for example, filters or splitters; coarse wavelength division multiplexing (CWDM), dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM), and O band cassettes; and SC or other types of cable connector adapters.